Just got these babies in! Going to be awesome in the mud for sure..... But I think they are going to really rip some dry loose courses as well. They look as good as a rhino, but have the far superior casing of an FMB.

In my opinion they are superior in the sense that they ride just as well (or slightly nicer) but are much better made with a more consistent size, straighter and more round and much less susceptable to rot (though it eventually does happen to all cotton tires).

You can buy Dugast and they'll be nice for a short time but eventually rot, and they're a bit of a pain to mount. You can buy FMB for the same price, and they'll go on easily, ride just as well and last much longer.

Basically what Jmoote said. I agree on all fronts. I've had enough Dugasts over the years to know their quality and longetivity is just not there.

A Dugast CX tire last one season max... and that's with treating the sidewalls. Dirt and water still find their way under the treatment and they rot. The base tape and tread are often not glued on well or straight.

The FMBs ride just as nice and are put together with much greater attention to detail. Also, they come factory prepped/sealed on the sidewalls. They will still eventually rot out, but it takes much longer. I've gotten 3 seasons out of an FMB before.

Also, the variety of treads being offered by Francois gives you some nice choices. For our typical courses something like a griffo or typhoon doesn't give enough cornering grip. So the ability to get teh old racing ralph tread on a nice tubular casing is awesome. The super mud is going to really round out their arsenal.

HOw many top euro guys ride fmb compared to dugast? I am not sure but ever pic you seein the variuos sites have dugast on thier wheels. I would argue that the reason dugast ride so nice isthat the sidewall is what it is. YOu can,t have it both ways- the stonger more durable the side wallthe less supple.

And in the end to notice the differnce btwn dugast and fmb you have to be a pretty solid techincal rider who can also put dwon some power. So for most of us FMB is probably the tire of choice. But in the end I would have to say dugast is the gold standard, with fmb and challenge a close 2nd. tufo in last

Challenge isn't in the same league as FMB or Dugast. You can't compare a poly casing to a 100% cotton one.

Also, Dugast is very popular for sure. But a lot of that has to do with other factors, such as mfg capacity, price deals, etc. Also, until now you couldn't get a good mud tread in an FMB without having something custom made. Didn't Simon have some FMB tires with Maxxis Black Shark Mud 26" tires stretched onto them? We all know he was quite good in the Pro ranks before moving to the road scene.

If you are a larger team you can afford to have tons of Dugast treads and you know they are buying new ones all the time as needed.

There is little difference in the Dugast and FMB sidewalls for all practical purposes. They are decent thread count cotton casings. So, they will ride very close to each other. The sealant on the FMBs is much more compliant than the typical aquaseal treatment that people (including pros) put on their Dugasts to try and get them to last. So, in that case... even with the added sidewall treatment, they are about equal.

I would agree with Brisco... FMBs ride virtually the same as Dugast... Though Thick coats of Aquaseal take away some of the tires suppleness. Or better said, low pressure traction. Comes down to how much bite you can get out of the tire.

This season I'm on Dugasts (Last year on FMBs) and I'm using "Tent Sure" sealant that you brush on.

I had a strange problem with the coating on my FMBs last year... apparently when they sat in the sun... like on my roof rack, or sitting in the pits... the sidewall sealant Francois puts on there broke down and became all gluey and sticky. Then everything stuck to them and they got all icky. I tried to clean them up and even tried to recoat them, but they were done. I sent them back to Francois, but never got a clear explanation as to the cause. I did get one replacement pair, and they have been fine. I keep that pair of SSCs on a pair of Zipp 202s for fast smooth courses.

The problem with Aquaseal on Dugasts is that it ends up peeling on the edges of the base tape and where it hits the rubber. It just sticks to the cotton. So water will eventually infiltrate the tape, bleed to the cotton, and then you have rot. Tent Sure is applied with a foam brush, really soaks into everything and is super thin. I use 2-3 coats, but after a lot of casing flex it begins to crackle a little, but I just powerwash off the mud, really spray the sidewalls, then use soap and a brush and my tires come out spotless like new. Then I towel everything off... let them dry out overnight and paint another coat. Takes literally 1 min per sidewall... let them dry overnight. Then race, rinse and repeat.

So far 4 super-cruddy, icky races and all is still great with them.

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Agreed that the Tent sure type of stuff is the way to go. I started using that many years back on my Dugasts and it is MUCH better than aquaseal. It's doesn't crack and peel up... letting water under it. It also goes on much easier and is lighter (hey... this is WW after all!)

For me, even with the seam grip/tent sure stuff, I'd only get a season or a season and a half out of a Dugast. With more than 8 sets of wheels between my wife and I, it was just too out of hand. The FMB tires were the solution for us, since they last longer. I always had a Rhino laying around... for the really bad days. But now, I think this Super Mud will take it's place.

I've had the problem you mentioned with FMB sidewalls. The culprit is almost always degreaser hitting the tires. Simple Green foaming bike cleaner is especially notorious for this. Even some detergents can cause it to happen. I always try and just use dish soap on the wheels/tires and haven't hap a problem since.

Also, if you ride an FMB into the pits flat, that will crease the coating and after that it starts to get sticky.

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